There are those who have asked if the current trend sweeping through Christendom is still Christian. This new religious movement, which some refer to as Nouveau Christianity or "Whatever" Christianity, is bringing new thoughts into church doctrine and removing many classical beliefs from the church. This, in and of its self, does not necessarily mean the current trend is wrong. The new trend is definitely wrong, however, when it adds to or takes away from the fundamentals of the gospel message.
Before one renders a final evaluation, of a Post Modern fellowship, they need to get beyond the dog and pony show and find out what is really being taught. My own personal evaluation, of many such congregations, has revealed a spiritual "warm and fuzzy" mysticism, coated with Christian words; but totally denying the deity of Jesus Christ. Paul warned Timothy about fellowships that have a form of godliness but deny the power of God. They talk about God but deny that He is the only true God. They talk about Jesus but deny that He is the only source of salvation. Paul told Timothy not to have any dealings with them. They may appear to be very spiritual and very knowledgeable but they will never be able to bow their knee to the truth about Jesus. You can render a final evaluation if a fellowship does not profess that their God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and if they cannot profess that He is the only true God: they are not Christians. You can render a final evaluation if a fellowship does not profess the absolute deity of Jesus Christ and acknowledge Him as the only way to eternal life: they are not Christians.
Of course, what is happening in Christendom today is not something new. This heresy, which is spreading across much of the Northern Hemisphere, has its roots sunk deep in the early church. This is probably true because Satan's attacks on the Body of Christ almost always fall into one of two categories: attacks on the person of Jesus or attacks on the validity of Christ. Satan has been, and still is, trying to deny the virgin birth of Jesus and he wants to discredit the bodily resurrection of Christ. Satan knows that, the moment he can get people to remove either of these events from their beliefs, the entire gospel message will fall apart.
If Jesus was not the incarnation of God, or if Christ is not setting on the thrown, of the Kingdom of God, then there is no gospel and there is no salvation. Much of Post Modern Christendom, unfortunately, is willing to deny the virgin birth and the bodily resurrection of Jesus. They have become so blinded by the words of charismatic preachers that they cannot see they are denying the very deity of Christ. When this position is taken by a religious fellowship it is totally incorrect to refer to such a fellowship as being Christian.
As we said earlier: this is not a new heresy. The "Apostles Creed," which was probably initially written in the 2nd century, sought to fight heresy by defining what it means to be a Christian. At the first Ecumenical council (325 A.D.) the Catholic Church wrote the Nicene Creed, which sought to clearly define the position every Christian needed to take. It was the rampant liberal theology of the 19th century, which moved the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, the Niagara Bible Conference (1878-1897) to write their statement of fundament Christian beliefs, which can be distilled into five basic Christian fundamentals:
1. Inerrancy of the Scriptures
2. The virgin birth and the deity of Jesus
3. The doctrine of substitutionary atonement through God's grace and human faith
4. The bodily resurrection of Jesus
5. The authenticity of Christ's miracles
It would be impossible to improve on the early Church creeds but I guess we could try to say it in more modern terms. A true Christian knows that:
1. The Holy Bible is the complete, final and inerrant revelation of God's absolute truths for mankind.
2. There is but one God; the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
3. There is but one Lord; who is Jesus the Christ and through whom all things were created.
4. He lived in heaven but became human by being born to the Virgin Mary so that, through Him, mankind might be saved.
5. The full essence, power and authority of the Godhead (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) were contained in Jesus here on earth.
6. He suffered death, was buried, on the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father.
7. There is no salvation except that contained in taking Jesus as your Lord and Savior; and in submitting to His authority and teachings relative to the conduct of our lives and temperament.
8. Jesus will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
In all probability, you will not find very many Post Modern congregations willing to profess all 8 basic Christian fundamentals; or any Christian fundamentals for that matter. That is because many Post Modern churches, with their warm and fuzzy preachers, are not really Christians. It has little, if anything, to do with the way they conduct a church service, the music they sing, the cloths they wear or how they communicate their message to the people. What counts is where their heart is. They may be the most generous, understanding and loving bunch of people you have ever found; but, if they do not bow their knee to Jesus Christ as the absolute authoritative source, and only deity in the universe, they are false. They may have a form of righteousness but their righteousness comes from the mind of man and not from God.